Knowledge

The ocean is a vast and mysterious place, filled with creatures that look entirely alien to our land-based brains.

Proper knowledge, which you gain by completing your digital learning materials and the academic sessions with your instructor, replaces any uncertainties or misunderstandings with enthusiasm and excitement.

For example, you may think that sharks are mindless predators that will attack without warning. Your instructor will teach you that sharks are a critical indicator of the ocean’s health, and that seeing a shark underwater is a rare privilege for any diver.

Skills

Skilled divers are instantly recognizable as they effortlessly move through the water without disturbing or interfering with the local wildlife. Your goal during training is to become so comfortable that you can repeat each skill without conscious thought or effort. Your instructor will use SSI’s “Comfort through Repetition” philosophy to develop your skills and abilities.

Comfort through Repetition - This philosophy is a training technique where your instructor first introduces the most fundamental version of the skill for you to master. This prevents you from being overwhelmed by complex skills or unfamiliar equipment.

Your instructor then gradually introduces more complex versions of the skill with each repetition as you demonstrate your ability with the simpler versions. You will repeatedly practice the skill under your instructor’s supervision , gradually increasing your comfort and ability until it becomes second nature.

Equipment

SSI, your training center, and your instructor want you to be comfortable at every stage of your training. They firmly believe that the best divers are those who understand that personally-owned, well-fitted equipment is more comfortable and safer than unfamiliar rental equipment. You will also be more comfortable in equipment customized to your needs and diving styles.

Your instructor and the staff of your training center will explain the benefits and features of each type of equipment you will use during your training, and will answer any questions you have about equipment ownership. If you choose to rent instead, they will provide you with suggestions for properly selecting and inspecting rental equipment, and recommend the minimum level of personal equipment needed to become an experienced diver.

Experience

The only way to gain diving experience is to actually go diving! Your instructor may schedule in-water training to ensure that you are completely prepared for your certification.

Every dive is an opportunity to refresh and refine your skills, see a new animal or underwater feature, or meet new friends who share your passion. So get out there, explore new worlds, meet new people, and learn with an SSI Training Center and SSI Professionals is the “ultimate diving experience!”

Responsibility

While you’re in training, your instructor is supervising you to keep you safe and within your limits. Once you earn your certification, you accept responsibility for your own safety, even when diving with others. You must make sound decisions that keep you safe and within the scope of your training and experience.

Following responsible diving practices—and making sure that your buddies follow them as well—keeps everyone safe, and protects the underwater environment. We have summarized many of these practices in the SSI Responsible Diver Code, which you will sign as part of your training.

Environment

Competent divers understand that they are only visitors when they explore the world’s fragile and slow-growing underwater ecosystems. By maintaining their skills and minimizing their impact on the aquatic environment, good divers ensure that the dive sites they visit will be available to future generations of future underwater explorers.

The SSI Blue Oceans program is a free program that teaches you about a variety of environmental challenges that our ocean faces, and how motivated and passionate divers, training centers, and regular citizens like yourself are making a difference.